The title of the thread is How real is Christianity?, and using that question as a starting point, I have to say that Christianity is very real. It's reality as an organized religion and a socio-political force is manifested daily in the lives of most of the inhabitants of the westernized world, whether we are capable of directly observing it, or not.
If, however, we instead ask the question How much validity is there to Christianity?, then there is still some ambiguity to the question. Are we talking about pre - American fundamentalist Christianity? Do we separate the Pentateuch from the rest of the Old Testament, and that from the New Testament when examining the Holy Bible as a religious text containing truth? Do we apply a literal interpretation to the mythological stories in Genesis of Creation, The Fall ,and The Great Flood, all of which are mythological archetypes that pre-date even the earliest of Old Testament writings? There are a myriad of questions beyond these regarding a the validity of the Judeo-Christian faith.
If we open our scope a bit wider to deal with Theism in general, there are also many questions that beg an answer. When you say "God" are you referring to the same ineffable concept as I am when i say "God"? How can we have a proper discourse on the subject if we do not know with any real certainty that we are referring to the same thing. If there is one god, as intimated in monotheism, then doesn't it stand to reason that any theistic religion, including polytheism, is communicating its own unique understanding of the same entity? Again, there are again many questions beyond these to address at this level as well.
If you widen the scope even further and speak of spirituality in general, there are still more questions to be asked. Can spirituality and humankind's apparent desire to have an awareness of that which is perceived to be divine point to an intrinsically human, even biological need to have communion with that which is perceived to lay beyond ourselves? Can we as rational human beings reasonably engage in an act of rational, objective observation when quantum physics has shown us that the mere act of observation has a direct effect on that which is being observed? Is there a single unified and pervasive force that is connected to our consciousness, as well as all living and non-living things, which allows us through a conscious act of directed intention (i.e. faith) to manifest the product of our mind into physical realm, thus equating to our own beliefs creating our own reality? There are many valid questions beyond these which that must be answered before coming to a definitive conclusion about the nature of absolute reality.
We place a lot of emphasis on being logical and rational human beings capable of utilizing our own reason for the sake of making essential discernments regarding the nature of reality, but a quick glance at the true essence of human nature, namely the illusory quality of human thought and observation is reflective of us being anything but reasonable and rational, and the reality of Christianity is only one way in which this is manifested in our world.
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